Link: http://www.alternet.org/rights/153536/madness%3A_even_school_children_are_being_pepper-sprayed_and_shocked_with_tasers_/

An alarming series of incidents offers some insight into how casual police have become about deploying "less lethal" weapons. There is something truly disturbing about a society that seeks to control the behavior of schoolchildren through fear and violence, a tactic that harkens back to an era of paddle-bruised behinds and ruler-slapped wrists. Yet, some American school districts are pushing the boundaries of corporal punishment even further with the use of Tasers against unruly schoolchildren.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/story/153538/not_sexy%3A_victoria%E2%80%99s_secret_%27fair_trade%27_cotton_harvested_by_child_slaves/

Victoria’s Secret is in the business of selling fantasy. Its elite team of supermodels (called “angels”) are painstakingly selected and considered some of the most beautiful women in the world, and its fashion show is a major television event, this year attracting musical performances from Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj. It is about glamor and exceptionalism, and its marketing is centered inextricably around making women who wear Victoria’s Secret’s lingerie feel equally glamorous and exceptional.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/dec2011/ratt-d21.shtml

President Obama’s former “Car Czar” says the government should have slashed the wages of auto workers and imposed even deeper concessions on United Auto Workers (UAW) members during the 2009 restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/dec2011/pers-d21.shtml

US President Barack Obama staged a ceremony Tuesday morning at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to mark the end of the Iraq War and the return of the top US commander in Iraq, General Lloyd Austin. With the president nodding his agreement, Austin declared, "What our troops achieved in Iraq over the course of nearly nine years is truly remarkable. Together with our coalition partners and corps of dedicated civilians, they removed a brutal dictator and gave the Iraqi people their freedom."